Asa and Mujitsu were running at Moderate speed. The closer they were, the tenser they became. They were strong, but they didn't know the strength of their opponents. The second man in addition was a dangerous variable. No one liked variables.

In their ears, each of them had a micro headset. They would most likely be destroyed during the fight, but that wasn't a problem.

From them, Hina's instructions were passed.

"OK guys, you're very close now. If you turn right on the next turn you'll enter their line of sight. So slow down a little. You guys know the drill. We will follow the RPG plan"

The plan was something they established before the start of the search. When they were in situations where the correct plan was impossible to create, they would follow a standard procedure with Asa as the tank, Mujitsu as the assassin and Hina as the Archer.

The one who proposed the name was Mujitsu. The only reason Hina accepted this was because those terms were really easy to understand.

The two nodded. Mujitsu stopped running and hide in one of the buildings. His presence immediately disappeared. It was like he was never there, to begin with.

Even though it wasn't the first time he saw this, Asa couldn't help but marvel at how dangerous and deceptive Mujitsu was.

Anyone who underestimated him because of his usual actions would pay it dearly. He hides a grimace as he thought about what happened back then when he first meets them.

He was sure that Mujitsu and Hina had a troubled past. Their skills were too polished to have simply be learned at school, even more so for Mujitsu. Still, he didn't want to pry too much. Everyone was entitled to have his own secret, and they didn't know each other nearly enough to have such discussions.

He took a deep breath before chasing all stray thoughts from his head. Now wasn't the time. He needed to give his all.

Finally, after turning, he stopped. The distance between the three of them was only about 100 meters. He was in their direct line of sight. There will be no hiding.

He began to slowly walk while making mental preparation to activate his quirk at a moment notice. Before coming to this mission, he had already charged a great quantity of Kinetic energy.

Despite walking toward them, he remarked that they stayed where they were. They seemed overconfident, but it was good. He loved opponents who looked down on him. They are always so easy to deal with.

When he reached an earshot from them, he heard the young woman laugh before she said with a smile.

"Seems like the dessert arrived."

Asa hides a grimace but still didn't lose his cool. Now wasn't the time. He opened his mouth.

"I am Asa Hiroto, a bounty hunter." He pointed at the man as he continued. "If you surrender here now, everything will be easier and you'll avoid pain."

The man began to laugh, while Michelle let a snicker on the side. It was clear that they didn't take him seriously. He let out a sigh,

"Now that the negotiations are broken, It's time to end this."

The tension was at its paroxysm. The first one to advance was the man. He began to crack his knuckles as he said,

"Stay out of this Eater, he is mine."

Michelle didn't immediately answer. She looked at the man who was targeting her. He was a young man with light skin and an average height, with a lean and toned build. All in all, he was a handsome fellow.

His short spiky yellow hair and beautiful blue eyes seemed particularly striking. He was wearing a high collar sleeveless indigo shirt, black pants and boots, and black cloth covering his left leg and arm. His chest was covered by two straps, held in place by a badge representing a wolf.

She licked her lip as her eyes gained a red hue. He looked so young and tender. She didn't know if he was sure of himself or simply arrogant, nor did she care to know. She only had one question, just how would he taste? She couldn't help but ask herself that question. As such, she nodded,

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

"Muscular, you can do it, but please don't reduce him to meat paste."

The man, Muscular, grinned. He began to walk slowly. As he advanced, muscle tissue began to form on his body before finally forming a thin layer that looked like an armor. He suddenly began to laugh

"That should be enough, please, don't die too soon."

The moment he said this, he pounced at a high speed and threw a fist at Asa's face. The fist was so huge that it seemed like a meteor was coming. Anyone who saw this scene would close his eyes in horror in order to see the result...

They would have been surprised. At least Michelle was. After all, Muscular was destructive fist immediately stopped the moment it touched the young man's head. The most incredulous one was Muscular. It would have been alright if the kid in front of him used some sort of defense to protect himself or even avoid the hit. But he nullified it? What kind of quirk was it?

Asa, seeing the dumb look on the one called muscular let out a sneer. Seeing this look on his enemy would never get old. He slowly lifted his hand, placed it on Muscular belly and said,

"Go away."

It was instantaneous. Muscular feel like he hit by a bus. His legs left the earth and he was thrown ten meters away. Directly hitting a building on his eyes.

The scene fell strangely silent. Michelle couldn't help but take this young man seriously now. Even though muscular underestimated him a little, the subsequent event showed that it wouldn't have changed much.

The dust from where Muscular fallen slowly settled. An unharmed muscular stood with a mad grin on his face.

"AH AH AH. MORE! MORE! LET'S PIT OUR POWER AGAINST EACH OTHER!"

The layers of muscle on his body swelled greatly. He was ready to fight. He wanted to fight. His heartbeat powerfully in his chest. The smile on his face becomes even more distorted.

Asa easy-going expression also went away. His quirk was without a doubt powerful, but it also had its limits. This fight wouldn't be easy.

-----

Mujitsu, who was hiding in another building not far away was slowly advancing. His moves were calm and elegant. Anyone who saw him would never believe that he was an Otaku chuuni.

He could feel the shock wave from the fight. From what he observed, the two were more or less equal. Asa could absorb most of Muscular hit and avoid those he couldn't.

On the other hand, he had yet to dish out hit strong enough to wound Muscular. This situation created a form of stalemate.

This was the most dangerous portion of any fight. During this moment, any mistakes could mean defeat if one wasn't careful enough.

Still, this had nothing to do with him. He had work to do. He shouldn't lose time. Thinking about this, he continued to advance as he slowly got closer to his target.

---

Asa was sweating. This bastard was a true monster. He was already able to predict the time he could absorb and was acting accordingly.

Of course, he wasn't using his full power. But his output was limited by his own body. If he used too much in one go, he would simply destroy his own body. It was a lesson that he learned painfully.

Even then, he could still use more power than he was using right now without risk if he wanted to, but he had to hold back.

Their primary target wasn't him. If he beat him too fast, nothing said that she wouldn't flee. That why he had to wait for Hina and Muji to be ready and strike.

It was when he was subtly distracted,

"Ah ah ah, foolish bastard !! Are you holding back? Then... Die."

Muscular arm, that was already covered in tissue swelled greatly in one go. Before Asa could totally understand what was happening, he was smashed aside like Muscular was a moment ago.

Cough!! Cough!!

Blood dripped from his lips as he coughed slightly. Thankfully, he was able to mitigate the damage by absorbing a part of the energy from Muscular. He also absorbed a part of what was generated by his fall.

Kinetic energy absorption was a powerful quirk. But his own version had a glaring flaw. The absorption wasn't done automatically. By using Mujitsu words, it was an active skill.

What more, his body was that of a normal human. As such, each time he used it, he had to be careful because one mistake could spell his death.

Like right now.

Muscular stood in front of him with his usual grin. His face was covered by shadow giving him a particularly menacing appearance.

He took Asa by the throat and slowly lifted him. Normally, he was already the winner, Asa didn't have a chance to do a comeback and was too disoriented to activate his quirk. If he squeezed, just a little it would have been the end, but... He began to speak,

"You know, you were an interesting adversary, sadly, you reek of inexperience. Even though it wasn't your first fight, you aren't used to it either."

Asa gritted his teeth in frustration. His head was still swimming. He couldn't concentrate, he needed more time.

Muscular continued, his smile growing so wide that it threatened to slip his face,

"Your quirk has few weak points. It was really difficult to put you in such situations. In fact, had you gone all out from the start, you would have certainly won."

Strength began to gather on his hands,

"Sadly, there is no if, in this world, neither is there a medicine for regret. So, die you pitiful worm."

----

Hina was watching the situation carefully. Her hands were shaking but she forcedly calmed herself. Everything happened too fast.

She wanted to support him, but her position was the worst possible to attack Muscular. From her position, if she attacked, the first one to die would be Asa.

She gritted her teeth in frustration. If the one holding the rifle was her brother, this situation wouldn't be a problem. Still, her brother wasn't here.

She began to think, the sole solution was for her brother to show himself and take their attention. That guy was a battle junkie, so he should be easy to goad.

Just as she was about to give the order to her brother, she saw an incredible scene...